For once, Friday wasn't horrible. Hooray!
I ate lunch with Maki, Bea, and Ena, and after that I went to Inoue sensei's class. Yoonkyung wasn't there so my usual attention span (which wasn't much to begin with) dropped to practically nothing. Ena always seems to fall asleep in this class, and I found myself nodding off due to my full stomach and the warmth of the classroom.
When we finally finished, I sat in Yoonkyung's office and waited for her to get there so we could study. We worked on some vocab and basic grammar, both of which were harder than they probably should have been. I don't think many people can really understand the level of mental exhaustion I have at the end of every day here. I am constantly learning new words, listening to sentences to try to piece together grammar, reading foreign characters-- it never stops. As a result, I find myself ridiculously tired, not always physically, by the time I have to go to sleep.
Later in the evening, Bea and I went to go see a Noh play. I was lucky to get the ticket for free, because otherwise I would have had to pay about $50! Noh is one of three very famous traditional types of theater in Japan (Bunraku and Kabuki are the others). Three plays were shown over a span of about three hours: Iwafune, Onigawara (a comedy), and Kagagetsu. Before every show they gave a summary of the plot in Japanese and English, so I could follow what was going on. I learned that Noh plays were originally shown on grassy fields or hillsides, which is why the shows were held outside. Because it was so different from anything I had ever seen in America I was really intrigued by it. I think Noh is more about what isn't said, which may be why Bea found it boring. At least the costumes were really cool! (I apologize for not taking pictures-- we weren't allowed to.) We sat on the grass and watched the shows from 5:30 to 8:30, and the last shows were illuminated by firelight.
Once we got back from the Noh plays, Bea and I met with Yoonkyung to go to the gym. I didn't want to do anything too difficult since I will be playing soccer all weekend, so I warmed up on an elliptical for twenty minutes and then did some easy exercises in the pool. When everything was said and done, Yoonkyung, Bea, and I relaxed in the hot tub and sauna before showering off.
Not bad for a Friday, I'd think. Not overly exciting, but it could have been worse. The most exciting part of the day for me was probably when Yoonkyung suggested we go see the new Pirates of the Carribbean in theaters. I didn't even know it was released in Japan so I am really looking forward to it! Now it's time for another busy weekend.
I ate lunch with Maki, Bea, and Ena, and after that I went to Inoue sensei's class. Yoonkyung wasn't there so my usual attention span (which wasn't much to begin with) dropped to practically nothing. Ena always seems to fall asleep in this class, and I found myself nodding off due to my full stomach and the warmth of the classroom.
When we finally finished, I sat in Yoonkyung's office and waited for her to get there so we could study. We worked on some vocab and basic grammar, both of which were harder than they probably should have been. I don't think many people can really understand the level of mental exhaustion I have at the end of every day here. I am constantly learning new words, listening to sentences to try to piece together grammar, reading foreign characters-- it never stops. As a result, I find myself ridiculously tired, not always physically, by the time I have to go to sleep.
Later in the evening, Bea and I went to go see a Noh play. I was lucky to get the ticket for free, because otherwise I would have had to pay about $50! Noh is one of three very famous traditional types of theater in Japan (Bunraku and Kabuki are the others). Three plays were shown over a span of about three hours: Iwafune, Onigawara (a comedy), and Kagagetsu. Before every show they gave a summary of the plot in Japanese and English, so I could follow what was going on. I learned that Noh plays were originally shown on grassy fields or hillsides, which is why the shows were held outside. Because it was so different from anything I had ever seen in America I was really intrigued by it. I think Noh is more about what isn't said, which may be why Bea found it boring. At least the costumes were really cool! (I apologize for not taking pictures-- we weren't allowed to.) We sat on the grass and watched the shows from 5:30 to 8:30, and the last shows were illuminated by firelight.
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| Before the first play |
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| A view of the seating area |
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| The stage at night |
Once we got back from the Noh plays, Bea and I met with Yoonkyung to go to the gym. I didn't want to do anything too difficult since I will be playing soccer all weekend, so I warmed up on an elliptical for twenty minutes and then did some easy exercises in the pool. When everything was said and done, Yoonkyung, Bea, and I relaxed in the hot tub and sauna before showering off.
Not bad for a Friday, I'd think. Not overly exciting, but it could have been worse. The most exciting part of the day for me was probably when Yoonkyung suggested we go see the new Pirates of the Carribbean in theaters. I didn't even know it was released in Japan so I am really looking forward to it! Now it's time for another busy weekend.
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